Classical: New Releases: Berlioz et al: Les nuits dété

THIS is a bizarre, if quite enjoyable, French compilation, featuring Daniels’s remarkable voice and artistry, but interlarded with orchestral pieces: Ravel’s Pavane, Fauré’s Elégie and, oddly, the Andromache scene from Act I of The Trojans, expressively played, but deprived of its essential chorus part. Daniels sings Ravel’s Greek songs ravishingly. There is also much to admire in his performance of Berlioz’s Nuits d’ét é. The voice may lack the variety of colour the cycle demands, and by transposing most of the songs down, he dims their lustre. But phrasing and dynamics are exemplary, as is Nelson’s conducting. One sta